Ecuador Abandons Moratorium on Oil Drilling in Biodiverse Yasuni Park

The Ecuadorian government has abandoned its moratorium on oil drilling in Yasuni National Park as a proposal to protect the park with the help of international donations fell apart.

In a nationally televised speech, President Rafael Correa blamed the failure of the ambitious conservation plan on a lack of funds, saying that a UN-administered trust fund had raised only $13 million of the $3.6 billion target.

“I have signed the executive decree for the liquidation of the Yasuni-ITT trust fund and with this, ended the initiative,” said Correa.

But the Yasuni park also sits atop an estimated 1 billion barrels of oil. Correa had said that Ecuador would forego income from oil drilling and protect the park if foreign donors would contribute billions of dollars to compensate the country for the loss of oil revenue.

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